www.HUBCanada.com

Shoot! - A Trio of Digital video Cameras
By Sean Carruthers, posted 1/14/2004 12:08:44 PM

Looking for a new digital video camera that squeezes high quality into the palm of your hand? We checked out three new compact models that offer slightly different high-end consumer features.

Compact and affordable
Canon ZR70MC
http://www.canon.ca/
Estimated price: $1,200

When digital video cameras first started to take off, most were pretty bulky, and the compact models could cost you many thousands of dollars. Canon was one of the companies that pushed the price point down with its tiny, yet affordable models. The ZR70MC is one of Canon's newer DV cameras.

Compared to other DV cameras, the design seems a bit strange, with more height and less width. Like the other models in the ZR line, this one fits very nicely into the palm of the hand; it's small enough to carry easily, but not so small that it's hard to grip naturally. The taller design also means more room for the lens assembly up top, allowing this compact camera to sport a 22X optical zoom lens. It also has a larger LCD viewfinder, at 2.5 inches diagonally, which spins through 270 degrees so you can almost always see what you're shooting.

The camera uses standard MiniDV videotapes for capturing your movies, and has a SecureDigital slot(and includes an 8 MB card)for still picture capture (up to 1,024x768 pixel images). A switch on the side allows you to select which media you save to: you can also save short movies to your SD card, or still images with voice com mentary to your DV tape.

As with most of the DV cameras these days, the ZR70MC comes with a remote control, so you can mount it on a tripod and control it from afar, whether you're shooting video remotely or just using the camera as a playback unit, connected to your television. The bundle also comes with a 0.6X wide-angle lens attachment, which is great for getting in more of the landscape or for group shots. (It doesn't work so well when you have to zoom in, though, so you should only use it when you'll be at minimum magnification.)

The good news about the camera is that, despite the comfortable form factor, excellent zoom, large LCD viewfinder, and the bonus accessories, it's still one of the more affordable DV cameras available. If you're looking for a camera, this is an excellent place to start (and end!) your search.